The Ben Needham Disappearance

[Anonymous]

Ten years after Ben Needham went missing in Greece, police have issued an updated picture. But his mother Kerry fears that, even if her son is found, he may not want to come home to her



ON TOP of Kerry’s Needham’s wardrobe is a huge, white suitcase which is so crammed with odds and ends she can no longer shut it.
One of her terrors — and Kerry harbours many, many terrors — is that if she finds her son Ben again he will think that she gave him away on purpose.

This battered suitcase, containing every press cutting about Ben’s disappearance, every documentary and news bulletin, every good luck card that the public has sent, is her proof. It is her personal testimony to Ben that he was taken illegally and that she did everything possible to bring him home. At times the search has almost broken her. And so far it has yielded nothing but wild goose chases and dashed hopes.

Twelve years ago Ben was abducted, aged 21 months, from the Greek island of Kos as he played in the sunshine. At first the police were convinced he had been murdered, probably by a member of his own family, causing extra misery for Kerry and hampering the investigation in the crucial, early days. But despite a massive hunt and worldwide publicity, no body or remains of a body have been found.

Full story

http://www.benneedham.info/

 

[carole]

I wonder what really has happened to him?



Carole

 

[MrSnowman]

Kidnapped by gypsies to sell on to a rich childless couple is the accepted version of events isn't it?

 

[Anonymous]

isn't the 'kiddnapped by gypsies' thing a bit over the top? it sounds like some old folk story.

 

[Anonymous]

Different regions have different kinds of crime. The abduction/adoption theory is more comforting than the usual outcome in Britain when a child goes missing.
Perhaps local police intelligence convinced the Needhams of the gypsy theory? After all, it's not unheard of for children to be snatched from their parents in Africa. Wherever there is poverty,there is a little lawlessness and many unscrupulous people willing to do anything for money. The slave trade was never completely eradicated.
Anyhow, I believe in positive thought and I just pray one day Kerry Needham can give her son a hug.

 

[Anonymous]

Anyhow, I believe in positive thought and I just pray one day Kerry Needham can give her son a hug.

I have my 2 year-old son with me as I type this. I couldn't imagine life without him. Giving him a hug is one of lifes beautiful moments for me.

 

[Cherrybomb]

British police are to help search land on a Greek island close to where Sheffield toddler Ben Needham disappeared 21 years ago.

Ben vanished on the island of Kos in July 1991, when he was 21 months old.
In May, his mother Kerry dismissed a report he could have died in a building site accident near the family's house.
Experts from police forces from across the UK have flown out to assist Greek authorities in their search of the area on Friday.
It is understood that Mrs Needham will arrive on Kos, supported by a police family liaison officer, during the search.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-so ... e-19987432

 

[escargot]

Think we already have a thread on this, or pehaps I've read about Ben on the 'disappeared people' one. I've always been interested in Ben's disappearance as there seemed to be no evidence that he'd ever left the place where he was last seen. Nobody saw a reluctant child being dragged along or carried in a suspicious way or bundled int a car. He'd apparently just vanished on the spot. As this is impossible, there had to be a more immediate explanation.

Anyway, I read the Mirror story in May and felt that it did seem to be the most likely explanation - that the child wandered off towards the building site and was accidentally run over and hastily buried by workers there. He had been left unattended outside to play and nobody looked for him right away, thinking that he had been taken for a ride by his uncle. So there was probably enough time for the workers to manage all this. How long would it take? Half an hour? 20 minutes? They had heavy digging equipment to hand.

If Ben's remains are found, at least his family can say goodbye to him. Although they currently believe that he is alive and being cared for by an adoring 'adoptive' family, so accepting that he is dead would be a big shock.

I doubt there'll be much left to find though so the mystery may continue.

 

[ChrisBoardman]

Looks like the latest theory is that he was accidentally buried under a large pile of rubble by builders.

 

[escargot]

The version I read was that he wandered into the path of a truck and was run over and killed instantly, which awful accident was witnessed by at least one other person besides the driver. He was then hastily buried nearby. This is supposed to have come from a workmate of the driver.